{"id":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","oai_identifier":"oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:uthonors1355502521"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/ohiolink/oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:uthonors1355502521","repository":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","name":"OhioLINK","base_url":"https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/oai/oai"},"display":{"title":"Optative Regret in George Eliot's Middlemarch","abstract":"Andrew Miller argues that in realist fiction, there exists the concept of optative regret,which is when a character becomes aware of and yearns for alternate versions of him orherself that may have become realized if different choices had been made in his or herpast. George Eliot's Middlemarch constantly confronts the reader with depictions ofsuch optative regret, especially in describing the man'iages of four of the novel'sprincipal characters: Dorothea Brooke, Edward Casaubon, Tertius Lydgate, andRosamond Vincy. I claim that Eliot wrote these scenes of marital optative regret in sucha manner as to provoke her reader into experiencing optative regret for the characters,and to create in the reader a stronger sense of agency in his or her own life. Throughclose readings of scenes of marital optative regret of these four characters, I will illustratehow Eliot wrote those passages in such a manner as to invite her reader to react in anoptative fashion. It is my purpose to expand the conversation about optative regret inrealist fiction and to expand the conversation about George Eliot's novel Middlemarch toinclude a discussion of the effects of Eliot's depictions of optative regret on her readersand her characters.","abstract_html":"Andrew Miller argues that in realist fiction, there exists the concept of optative regret,which is when a character becomes aware of and yearns for alternate versions of him orherself that may have become realized if different choices had been made in his or herpast. George Eliot's Middlemarch constantly confronts the reader with depictions ofsuch optative regret, especially in describing the man'iages of four of the novel'sprincipal characters: Dorothea Brooke, Edward Casaubon, Tertius Lydgate, andRosamond Vincy. I claim that Eliot wrote these scenes of marital optative regret in sucha manner as to provoke her reader into experiencing optative regret for the characters,and to create in the reader a stronger sense of agency in his or her own life. Throughclose readings of scenes of marital optative regret of these four characters, I will illustratehow Eliot wrote those passages in such a manner as to invite her reader to react in anoptative fashion. It is my purpose to expand the conversation about optative regret inrealist fiction and to expand the conversation about George Eliot's novel Middlemarch toinclude a discussion of the effects of Eliot's depictions of optative regret on her readersand her characters.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Andrews, Sandra Hildegarde"],"institution":"University of Toledo Honors Theses","degree_name":"Bachelor of Arts","degree_level":"bachelors","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Gregory, Melissa"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012","date_published":"2012","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z","subjects":["Literature","Optative regret","George Eliot","Middlemarch","Dorothea","Lydgate","Casaubon","Rosamond"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. 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I claim that Eliot wrote these scenes of marital optative regret in sucha manner as to provoke her reader into experiencing optative regret for the characters,and to create in the reader a stronger sense of agency in his or her own life. Throughclose readings of scenes of marital optative regret of these four characters, I will illustratehow Eliot wrote those passages in such a manner as to invite her reader to react in anoptative fashion. It is my purpose to expand the conversation about optative regret inrealist fiction and to expand the conversation about George Eliot's novel Middlemarch toinclude a discussion of the effects of Eliot's depictions of optative regret on her readersand her characters."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf","p.32","1.31 MB"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Optative Regret in George Eliot's Middlemarch"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Gregory, Melissa"],"dc:creator":["Andrews, Sandra Hildegarde"],"dc:date":["2012"],"dc:description":["Andrew Miller argues that in realist fiction, there exists the concept of optative regret,which is when a character becomes aware of and yearns for alternate versions of him orherself that may have become realized if different choices had been made in his or herpast. George Eliot's Middlemarch constantly confronts the reader with depictions ofsuch optative regret, especially in describing the man'iages of four of the novel'sprincipal characters: Dorothea Brooke, Edward Casaubon, Tertius Lydgate, andRosamond Vincy. I claim that Eliot wrote these scenes of marital optative regret in sucha manner as to provoke her reader into experiencing optative regret for the characters,and to create in the reader a stronger sense of agency in his or her own life. Throughclose readings of scenes of marital optative regret of these four characters, I will illustratehow Eliot wrote those passages in such a manner as to invite her reader to react in anoptative fashion. It is my purpose to expand the conversation about optative regret inrealist fiction and to expand the conversation about George Eliot's novel Middlemarch toinclude a discussion of the effects of Eliot's depictions of optative regret on her readersand her characters."],"dc:format":["application/pdf","p.32","1.31 MB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=uthonors1355502521"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["University of Toledo Honors Theses / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["Literature","Optative regret","George Eliot","Middlemarch","Dorothea","Lydgate","Casaubon","Rosamond"],"dc:title":["Optative Regret in George Eliot's Middlemarch"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["bachelors"],"thesis:degree_name":["Bachelor of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Toledo Honors Theses"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z"}